DAHLIA:
I lie awake in bed next to Samalah, strongly feeling both dread and despair. Somehow, everything she told me was so hard to take in…
So… I was already married, and my husband was a cruel jerk who betrayed me. Now, we are on the run because my identity was exposed in an illegal auction.
I could barely remember hearing a tale about Shadow wolves from somewhere, but Samalah helped fill me in the details of who the Shadow Runes were.
She said we were already orphans when met each other. We were sold as slaves, but we had sworn to stick by each other through thick and thin.
I don’t know how much I could really trust Samalah’s words, but so far, she had been nothing but kind and patient towards me, explaining all the details that my memory had failed to recover.
There was actually someone else I could ask regarding this matter, but as of the moment, I was having a very hard time reaching out to her...
<SAMALAH:My chest was threatening to explode with rage as I looked at the blood-red fertility stone in my hands, but it was Dahlia’s sudden burst into tears that had reminded me the part I needed to play at that moment.“N-No… That can’t be right…”“Yes. Maybe this was defective. Let’s try it again,” I whispered in a dull voice.We waited some time to let the stone settle back into its original white color. After about thirty minutes, I pricked Dahlia’s finger once more and poured a drop of her blood into the stone.Red. It produced the same red color.“I… I am not pregnant… I cannot possibly be pregnant!”That’s right. She cannot be of child, especially not with Tristan’s child!I can’t help it. Even I was sent into fits of tears.When we were both calm enough, she whispered towards me, “Who is he?”
DAHLIA:The sun has already reached its peak when I woke up. Samalah was kind enough to prepare some breakfast for the day’s journey.“You have to eat up a lot, sister. After all, you are eating for two now.”I looked down at my belly and placed my hands over it. Was it really true? Was a child really growing inside me when it wasn’t even apparent?...Before I slept, I was thinking what to do. Samalah said my husband was a monster. If he was, then I could be carrying someone who could turn out to be as devilish and as menacing, right?And yet, the alternative – ending this child’s life – didn’t feel like even an option for me at all. Even though I do not remember anything, I was sure I don’t want to see this child leave.Things would be hard from now on, I guess… I was going to be a mother soon.“By the way, sister, it’s inevitable that we’ll meet people al
DAHLIA:A pair of wolf eyes glowing fiercely was looking straight at me, and I gazed back. I couldn’t take my eyes of it. It was so mesmerizing and at the same time very frightening.“Dahlia,” I heard the wolf say in a low growl. “Dahlly!”I stood there frozen in horror. How did this wolf know me? Was he a spy, a soldier sent to kill me? Was he there to snatch me away? Did I just get discovered right now?My feet moved involuntary away. I wanted to run, but all I could do was back away as the wolf emerged from the bushes and took some steps towards me.“Ahh,” I opened my mouth to scream, but before I could overcome my initial shock, the man, in his half-wolf half-human form, had come closer like lighting. He came over me and cupped his hand against my mouth.He was covered from head to toe with fur as dark as the night. The only thing I could see were his deep violet eyes that shone like gemstones. T
TRISTAN:I didn’t know what else to tell Dahlia, so I began to tell her the most basic of all truths between us...“You and I – we are fated mates… Can’t you tell?”That’s right. I found Dahlly just now, but I couldn’t just snatch her away as I pleased… especially now that she had lost her memories of me…Last night, I ventured by myself further into the forest surrounding Dalrus. I knew Samalah was someone who hated crowds. She often went alone and acted alone. If she had planned to kidnap Dahlia, she would probably run into the woods with her and hide her there until her plan was fulfilled.Samalah was always highly suspicious of people. I thought I was the only one whom she trusted before we planned to extract our revenge against the Talandor royals, but seeing how she had me framed at Payn, it was safe to say she shifted her trust to someone else she could control.Thus, inst
DAHLIA:I can’t believe what he just did. How can Naskan be so bold? Was it because he was sure we were fated mates?The craziest part of it all was that I liked it. I liked his kiss, and before I knew what I was doing, I was already kissing him back…Naskan’s muscular arms travelled around my body, caressing me. Why was I even letting him do this?“Ahh, wait,” I said, pulling back. There was no way I should concede to this. I’m pregnant, and more importantly, I don’t even remember this wolf at all…“Are you beginning to remember now, Dahlly?” He called me in that nickname too… Were we really close?There was indeed a comforting feeling even when Naskan was staying much closer than I would have wanted right now. He does not feel like a threatening person, and yet… This was all wrong…I have a husband somewhere. Maybe I was forced to marry that man, but
TRISTAN: I admit it. I was furious beyond reason. I even imagined strangling Samalah with my own bare hands at this very moment... As always though, she remained calm and emotionless. She must be confident that I wouldn’t or I couldn’t hurt her at all. She had always trusted our intertwined history together. “Calm yourself. I can’t breathe,” she quietly said. I looked into her eyes and tried to decipher the depth of the schemes that were going through her head. Despite growing up together under Uncle’s Milford’s care, I could never really figure out this woman. I channeled the emotions inside my heart. She was right. I didn’t want to hurt her. Not until I hear her words about this ruckus with Dahlia. As soon as I released the hold on the air around us, Samalah gasped. Finally, she was showing some fear when she looked back at me after being unable to breathe properly. “Why are you pretending to be him? Why are you assuming some
DAHLIA:I left Naskan and Samalah to talk by themselves inside the cave, but how come everything was so quiet?I wanted to listen to their conversation, so I stayed just a bit outside of the cave, but I didn’t hear ever a single word.I frowned. Were they able to use magic to seal off their conversation?Although Samalah has been nothing but kind to me, I still cannot trust her fully, and Naskan – well, he’s on a whole different level…Naskan felt like he was someone familiar, and yet, he also felt like a total stranger at the same time.I did like Naskan – that’s something I cannot deny. He was very attractive, but at the same time, he’s somewhat rude, a bit cocky, and he always tries to tempt me whenever he gets a chance...I shook my head. Why was I thinking of Naskan? Just because I saw his body and it looked divine does not automatically make him someone I could trust...I still h
DAHLIA: Naskan was acting funny. I knew he was lying when he said that nothing was bothering him. He didn’t look too comfortable with the conversation at all. “Why don’t you tell Dahlly the truth? Her husband – you know him, right,” Samalah said. “Out of all people, you know him far too well.” I knew the talk wouldn’t go smoothly because of Samalah’s teasing, but I gasped when something completely surprising happened. Just then, I heard Naskan swear towards Samalah inside of my head. ‘F*ck off,’ he growled internally. It was my turn to flinch as I grabbed tightly at Naskan’s fur, to which he also halted in surprise. “Dahlia, are you alright,” he said softly. I could only nod at him. Did I just really hear his voice inside my head? “You’re making her uncomfortable, Naskan. Dahlly, are you sure you’re alright?” “Um, yes… Don’t mind me,” I told Samalah, grateful for her concern. It must have just be